ALBANY – Saying New York could be a “market leader” for corruption, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara on Thursday slammed the state Legislature and Gov. Cuomo for not moving more aggressively on ethics reform.
In an interview with City & State, Bharara compared Albany’s anti-corruption efforts to a doctor treating organ failure and limb dysfunction with an aspirin.
“I think given the problem that you have, given how many people have gone to prison, given how many investigations seem to be still swirling around, that something has to be done beyond simply prosecutors sending people to prison,” he said.
And asked if New York politics is more corrupt than that of other states, Bharara replied, “If you’re looking for a market leader, I wouldn’t not bet on New York.”
He pointed to Kentucky, saying that state enacted a “series of strict reforms” in the wake of several corruption scandals.
“I don’t think any reasonable observer can say that the same alarm bell has caused the same amount of change and action in New York,” Bharara said.
“I believe in evidence-based analysis, and I . . . have not seen any evidence to show that there’s any serious kind of self-policing going on in the Legislature,” Bharara said.
New York passed a reform measure that will pave the way for a constitutional amendment taking back pensions from lawmakers convicted of felonies and requiring political consultants to disclose clients and earnings.
But the “ethics-reform” law failed to limit outside income for legislative leaders and didn’t close a loophole that allows shadow groups to form LLCs and circumvent campaign-finance rules.